This I Believe

I believe that human beings can and do develop true understandings of the Universe: what we are, where we are, what created the universe – how, when and why? I think that we all strive to gain this knowledge.

In 1954, I was confirmed in St. Lucas E & R Church in Evansville, Indiana and had found these issues very fascinating. But in my 20’s, I had an epiphany on the road to understanding: I had just reached the summit of a very tall mountain. I looked down and saw God struggling up the mountain below me. I realized that the summit represented “my Holy Grail” – what I had been searching for and also that God couldn’t help me.

I turned to Science for help: Physics taught that the Universe, including all of Space, Time and Matter began in the original Big Bang. The Laws of Physics arise naturally from the symmetries of the Universe as determined by the original shape of the Universe. These symmetries state that there are not privileged locations or directions in space or moments in time. Biology (Evolution) taught me that there are no privileged species.

Conclusions:

1. Thus no privileged locations, times or species exist which implies there is no Heaven, Hell, God or Satan.

2. There is only this Universe but which we have as our playground without supervision. Of course if we meet another species hopefully we will both play nice.

3. There is no basis for any discrimination against another species .or any individual or groups of individuals within a species.

4. Sociologists are finding evidence that all cultures across the globe accept the same five moral categories of behavior. The only differences are the relative importance each culture assigns to the individual categories

5. We should be very careful of what we say. In high school I heard a boy ask a very attractive girl “Don’t you think Hardin looks like a Neanderthal?” Of course I was devastated. I looked in the mirror and decided he was right. This self image stayed with me for at least 30 years, demonstrating how words can hurt more intensely than “sticks and stones.”

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Top 100 Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

This week’s essay

Following her grandmother’s death, Priya Chandrasekaran wondered what to do with the colorful silk saris she inherited. In deciding to make a quilt from them, Chandrasekaran believes she found a way to both honor her grandmother and create something new. Click here to read her essay.